Strap-finishing machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets -Sheet 1..

J. B. GATHRIGHT.

STRAP FINISHING MACHINE.

No. 537,148. Patented Apr. 9, 1895.

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JOSIAH B. GrATHRIGIIT, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

STRAP-FINISHING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 537,148, dated April9,1895.-

Application filed August 17, 1894.

T at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OSIAH B. GATE RIGHT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Louisville, in the county :of J efiferson and'Stateof Kentucky, have invented a new and useful Im-' provement inStrap-Finishing Machines and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe. accompanying drawings, in which I Figure I is a side elevation of astrap-finishin g machine according to my invention. Fig. II is an endview of the same certain parts being broken away. Figs. III, IV, V, andVI are detail views of portions of the machine on a larger scale; andFig. VII shows in end view a modification of this machine.

The object of this invention is to perform at a single operation thevarious acts of finishing such leather straps as traces, back bands andotherportions of a harness. This finishing operation comprises trimmingthe edges, creasing, burnishing, and polishing, and sometimes blackingthe edges of the straps.

Tothis end my invention consists in the construction and combination ofparts forming a strap finishing machine, hereinafter described andclaimed. i

represents the frame of the machine in which is journaled a wheel 11upon a shaft 12 that is driven by means of a pulley 13 preferablyconnected with the shaft 12 by means of a friction clutch 14. By thismeans of connection if the wheel 11 meets any undue resistance the wheel18 will slip against the friction driver 14, thus avoiding breakage. Thepulley 13 is adapted to revolve continually in communication with a mainline of shafting and the friction clutch 14: may be engaged with it manyusual manner whenever it is desired to operate the wheel 11.

15 is a hook let into the perimeter of the wheel 11, flush, and pivotedto hang backward to engage the eye of a trace 17, so as to pull thetrace forward and wind it around the wheel where it may continue torevolve with the wheel until work on it is completed.

16 is a trimmer fixed upon a portion of the frame 10 and provided withsuitably shaped knives 18, 19 to trim the edges of the .strap into therequired shape, either with square,

or rounded or hollow edges. I prefer to locate erial No. 520,579. (Nomodel.)

two complete trimmers 18, 19 one above the other, the knives for onetrim mer being shaped for trimming round corners, and the other forsquare corners in order that themachine may always stand ready fortrimming straps of either style.

20 represents combined burnishers and creasers located at suitabledistances apart around the perimeter of the wheel upon supports 21 whichare fixed to the frame 10. These burnishers and creasers are shaped asusual for burnishing the edges and creasing the straps near the edges byrubbing against them while the straps are revolved around the wheel pastthe stationary burnishers and creasers. One end of each burnisher may beshapedto burnish a square edged strap, and the other end be shaped toburnish a round edged strap, and the burnisher may be made reversible tobring either end into action as may be required, a creaser in each caseacting in conjunction with a burnisher.

In Fig. III 22 represents the end of a burnisher shaped for what istermed a square edged strap, the corners 23 being as usual a very littlerounded for finish. The end 24 of the burnisher is shaped for a roundedged strap. This burnisher is journaled upon a stud 25 around which itmay be rotated to turn end for end, andv it is provided with a stop pin26 passing through the burnisher into its support to hold it fixedeither endto the work.

27 is a creaser journaled-upon the same stud 25 and held by the samestop pin 26, but shaped with a nib 28 to bear on or into the outer faceof a strap and crease it in passing.

This nib 28 may be single or double pointed, and be shaped according tothe cross profile of the crease or creases designed to be formed by it,and it is evident that the two ends of the creaser may be shapeddifferently to form different patterned creases, but as here shown theend 29 has been left blank and is made short for use on such straps asare to be burnished and not creased. Around the stud 25 is located aspring 30 to bear upon the creaser thus permitting the latter to yieldin passing over inequalities in the thickness of the strap, and 31 is athumb nut screw-threaded upon the stud 25 to adjust the tension of thesaid spring 30.'

In the modification shown in Fig. IV, the body 32 of the creaser isrigidly fixed to its support by means of two bolts 33, and the creaser34 is cylindrical and journaled lengthwise in the burnisher to roll overin its bearings. By this means either its creasing nib 35 will bebrought into action so that the strap will be both creased andburnished, or its upper corner 36 will be added to the curve of theburnisher and serve only to burnish without creasing.

37 is a pin projecting from one side of the creaser shank to strike onthe bearing and limit its rocking motion to a half circle whereby thecreaser may be set to operate either one side up or the other.

38 is a staple-shaped yoke provided with springs 39, to furnishyieldingpressure upon the creaser, and with screw nuts 40 to adjust thespring pressure. The mounting block 55 supporting each burnisher isfitted to slide on a cross bar 56 and is impelled by aspring 57 to pushthe burnisher constantly against the edge of the strap even though theleather of the strap recedes by compression from this burnishing.

In the modification shown in Fig. V, the burnisher 58 is mounteddirectly upon a crossbar 56 and isimpelled to work by the spring 57, butin this case the burnisher is reversible end for end'by revolving aroundthe crossbar. The bar 56 is square at 59 in cross section, and round atand the hole in the burnisher is square so that when the burnisheris onduty it isheld upon the square portion 59 and is thereby prevented frombeing revolved, but when it is to be changed end for end it is pushedagainst the spring 57 onto the round portion 60 and there revolvedaround the cross bar. Each burnisher may have a setscrew 61 to hold itrigidly to work in some cases.

41 is a shield for wheel 11, serving also as a supporter for a series ofbrushes 42 which are so located as to brush the outer face of a straprevolved upon the wheel.

43 is a rotary polisher journaled in the frame and rotated by a belt 44,communicating with a pulley 45 which is fixed on the same shaft as thewheel 11. This polisher rotates in the direction opposite to wheel 11,

and gives a high finish to the strap.

It will be understood that brushes might be arranged to apply blackingto the edges of the strap while rotating, the repeated revolutions ofthe strap which is being finished on the wheel permitting the blackingto be applied at one revolution and the burnishin g to be done atsucceeding revolutions.

The operation is as follows: A strap 17 to be finished is to be pushedthrough one of the trimmers 18 or 19. The burnishersand creasers shouldbe set to correspond with the trimmer. The hook 15 is to be engaged withthe eye in the strap. Then the wheel 11 being set to revolving willcontinue to draw the strap repeatedly past the burnishers, creasers, and

polishers until a high degree of finish is attained. In the modificationshown in Fig. VII the shield 41 is left off and the bu rnishers shown at46 are supported on two disks 47 which are located at the sides of theweel 11 not to revolve therewith but to slide endwisc upon the shaft toand from said wheel.

48, 48 are levers pivoted to a fixture 49 of the frame and engaging thegrooved hubs 50 of disks 47.

51 represents knuckle-joint braces connecting the levers 48, and 52 is atreadle connected with the braces whereby they may be drawn down and thelevers 48 and disks 47 be spread apart thus drawing the burnishers outof ac tion 53, 53 are springs acting between the frame 11, and the hubs50 to press the burnishers to their work.

The books 15 may be held in the groove in wheel 11 when not at work bymeans of springs 54 which springs tend to hold the hooks in closeengagement with the straps when at work. By this means a-number of shortstraps maybe carried at once on a wheel large enough to carry asinglelong trace, and yet any hooks not in service will be closed into thegroove out of the way.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I believe to be new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

1. In astrap finishing machine, awheeljour naled to revolve; a device onthe perimeter of the wheel to engage and carry a strap; finishingdevices located consecutively adjacent to the said perimeter of thewheel, and means for rotating and guiding the strap repeatedly incontact with the said finishing devices, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a wheel journaled in aframe; meansfor engaging oneend ofastrap with the wheel; a polishing brush journaled in the frameand geared to revolve against the strap, and guides for the free portionof the strap located around the wheel substantially as described wherebythe strap engaged by one end only may be repeatedly revolved in contactwith the polisher.

3. The combination ofawheel grooved in its perimeter; a series of hookshung in the said groove and each adapted to swing out a considerabledistance and engage a strap, and a closing spring for each hooksubstantially as described whereby each hook is held in the groove flushwith the face of the wheel when not in service.

4. A wheel journaled to revolve in aframe; means for attaching a strapby one end to the wheel; strap finishing devices located around thewheel, a shield around the wheel and guides attached theretosubstantially as described whereby a strap attached to the wheel by oneend only may be guided to rotate repeatedly in contact with thefinishing devices.

5. The combination of a wheel for rotating a strap, and a combinedburnisher and creaser hung each with yielding resistance means forguiding the forward end of the strap to enter be reversed one relativeto the other, and repeatedly between the burnishers, and means shaped tocoact in each position, substantially for keeping the free end of thestrap upon the as described. I 5 wheel, substantially as described. Intestimony whereof I have hereunto 5 6. The combination in a strapfinishing masigned my name, in the presence of two attest-V chine, of aburnisher having two different pating witnesses, at Louisville, in thecounty of terns of burnishing faces, means for revers- Jefferson, in theState of Kentucky. ing the burnisher to bring either face intoaction,and meansforrevolvingastrap against JOSIAH GATHRIGH to the same,substantially as described. Witnesses:

7. The combination in a strap finishing ma- E. S. FOOTE.

' chine, of a burnisher and acreaser hung to CHAS. A. GRAHAM, Jr.

